


Team Rocket Drabbles

by Magikarp_Karp



Series: The Life and Lies of the Daughter of a Pokémon Mob Boss [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Giovanni - Freeform, How to raise a daughter, Jesse and James are Famous, What am I doing?, What is he doing?, You Know You WANT To, adopt kids, raising a kid, slow burn family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-20 10:27:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 10,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22182424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magikarp_Karp/pseuds/Magikarp_Karp
Summary: Things have changed since Giovanni had a daughter. Follow him and the rest of Team Rocket as they struggle to raise a little girl while not telling her exactly what they do.Slow burn family(but not really, these are drabbles)
Series: The Life and Lies of the Daughter of a Pokémon Mob Boss [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1596637
Comments: 27
Kudos: 24





	1. New Dad

_ The phone rang. _

_ "This is the Viridian gym." _

_... _

_ "The gym leader is very busy right now. May I take a message?" _

_... _

_ "The what?" _

_... _

_ "I see. I'll tell him." _

_ Click. _

_ "Sir. It appears you need to go to the hospital. They are claiming that your daughter was just born." _

  
  
  


Giovanni entered the hospital room. The woman in the bed, he remembered well. It was one night of weakness, one night to let himself relax. He had kept things safe, to end up like this…

"Thank you for coming…" She looked drawn and weak. The pregnancy and birth had taken a lot out of her.

"Hm. Where is she?" Giovanni scanned the room, searching.

"Here. She looks like you." The woman gently moved the blanket away from the bundle in her arms. It squirmed a bit.

The gym leader stepped forward and stared at the baby. The little tuft of hair was the same shade as his black hair, and the babe opened bleary gray eyes to meet his own.

Giovanni brought his hand close to the baby, who latched on with a weak grip.

In that second, he was lost.

"I won't live much longer," the woman whispered, "you'll take care of her, won't you?"

He tore his eyes away from his daughter  _ (a daughter) _ and looked into her eyes.

Giovanni asked, "does she have a name?"

She smiled softly and leaned back.

"Amaryn... I named her Amaryn… thank you…"


	2. Archer is Sassy

It didn't look like it, but Giovanni was panicking. The baby just  _ wouldn't stop crying! _ There was a meeting in five minutes!

Archer, who had arrived early, as was his wont, was politely and desperately pretending the child didn't exist and that his boss was not a panicked mess.

"I can't- Persian! Do you have any idea what to do?"

Persian rolls her eyes at her trainer, who's apparently lost it. She pushed him away from the crib and jumped in to curl around the tiny human. Beginning to purr and croon, she groomed the baby gently and Amaryn began to quiet down.

Giovanni about started crying in relief. This new parent thing was the hardest thing he would ever do, it seemed.

He turned around and pointed at Archer. "You didn't see anything!"

"Yes sir, " Archer intoned. "I did not see you freaking out over a baby… you realize Ariana has a kid and could tell you how to do this?"

Giovanni shook with rage "You-" he glanced behind him and the wind flew out of his sails. "You shut up. I don't need this right now…"


	3. Enter James

Giovanni laid Amaryn down for the night in her crib. Persian jumped in, as was customary by now, and began to purr a lullaby. The baby quietly fell asleep under her Pokémon guardians eye as her father got ready for bed himself. He hoped, as always, that he wouldn't need to use the gun tucked away under his pillow, but especially because the sound would wake the baby.

He has needed it before.

The mansion was quiet as everyone fell asleep, from Team Rocket Boss to his Pokémon.

Nobody heard the window downstairs open.

A bit of hacking had disabled the alarms. James was certain that this mansion would have something valuable in every room. After all, his old home did… No, don't think about that!

He began to quietly sneak through the halls. All the cameras were on a loop, he just had to make sure he didn't make a sound as he quietly filled his bag with goods and the occasional cloth to muffle any clinking. All the doors were well oiled, he discovered, and any servants were either out or asleep. Then he went upstairs.

He left the bag outside of these rooms. He didn't want to risk anything. With his small size he was able to unscrew a few grates and wiggle his way through to the locked rooms.

There was a crib. One of these rooms had a crib in it. James stopped his heist and stared down at the sleeping baby, suddenly feeling guilty. Her parents would probably be freaked out when they woke to find their belongings missing. But a kid's got to eat…

He spent some time staring at the child, entranced. He didn't notice anything else. Were all babies so small?

…Until there was a growl behind him.

James stiffened and turned to see the glowing eyes of a pissed off Persian. It, like all cats could, had squeezed into the ventilation and snuck up behind him.

"Why don't you come down from there, little thief?"

The boy slowly turned his head to see a man holding a gun toward the vent. He gulped.

Slowly, carefully, James unscrewed the grate and moved it aside under the watchful eyes of the Persian, who had moved to take his bony ankle into its mouth as a threat. He slid quietly out and stood there, cowering from the gun that was trained on him.

The man smirked at him.

"I thank you for at least being quiet about this. You didn't wake my daughter. Now, if you weren't so young, I would chance it anyway. As it is…" he looked James up and down, before lowering the gun, "work for me."

James stopped trembling in confusion. "I… what?"

"I am the leader of Team Rocket," the man declared softly, somehow looking intimidating in his pajamas.

James had heard of Team Rocket. This was obviously the  _ wrong _ mansion to rob, if this is where the boss lives.

He began to sweat. "Uh…"

Persian eeled its way out of the grate and landed behind James, like he needed incentive. He gulped again after a glance back, then nodded hesitantly to the Boss.

"Good. First order of business is to put things back where you found them. Then we will speak."


	4. Protective

"James, take these papers to Petrel."

"Yes sir!"

The boy carefully took the stack of papers and bolted, careful to not slam the door behind him. Giovanni smirked after him.

It had been a good idea to hire the little thief. With some care and proper food the brat was a quick runner.

And Amaryn seemed to like him. He was good at changing diapers quickly and without making  _ too _ much of a face, after he got over his fear of being too rough and hurting the baby. He hadn’t had sticky fingers since the first night, when he was caught stealing food from the kitchen. All in all, the boy was a good investment.

Amaryn started to grizzle. Giovanni left his desk and went to the attached kitchen to warm up a bottle for her.

It was always a wonder, to hold this tiny human in his arms. He couldn't have helped except to notice that every time he held his daughter in his arms she would reach out to him. It made him feel soft but…

There was a frantic knocking at the door. A grunt peered in.

"Sir! They're asking for you in the labs!"

Giovanni raised an eyebrow. He was clearly feeding his daughter, he wasn't moving. Unless… "What's your name?"

The grunt blinked. "Sebastian, sir?"

"Any experience with children?"

Sebastian started to get nervous, "I have a nephew?"

"Good. Come here."

Giovanni plopped Amaryn and her bottle into the grunts arms. At that moment James popped back in with another stack of paperwork.

"James!"

"Yessir!"

"Keep an eye on him." Giovanni strode out the door and the boy turned laser focus onto Sebastian, who began to sweat. Children shouldn't look like that, he thought.


	5. Whispering Lullaby

Amaryn was crying again. It wasn't the loud wails that signaled a diaper change, or the whimpers of the hungry, but the whines of the tired. She was stubbornly refusing to sleep. James was supposed to grab a pen for Giovanni, who had forgotten his, but the baby distracted him. Giovannis Machamp looked to be at its wits end.

"Give her to me?" James held out his arms.

"Ma-machamp," Machamp could not hand Amaryn over fast enough.

James rocked gently and began to quietly sing.

_ The moon is high, _

_ And it's time for the babies lullaby. _

_ The night is here, _

_ Whispers of dreamtime drawing near. _

_ Whispering lullaby, _

_ Whispering lullaby, _

_ Go to sleep… _

Giovanni was confused. Usually James was very quick; he was only getting a pen. By now he had already finished his business and no longer needed that pen. He was approaching his office when Persian stopped him.

_ The day has waned _

_ And the air is still, _

_ Fireflies dancing on the windowsill _

_ Whispering lullaby, _

_ Whispering lullaby, _

_ Go to sleep… _

The voice was high and not very confident, but getting stronger. As the song ended, Giovanni silently opened the door and stared at the sight of James rocking the baby and quietly whispering reassurances to her and Machamp.

An eyebrow was raised, before Giovanni returned his Machamp and startled James into jolting suddenly. The movement luckily didn't wake up Amaryn but James brought her up defensively just in case. He saw that it was his boss at the door and turned red.

"Sir!" James whispered.

Giovanni smirked at him and stepped past to his desk. Persian hooked her claws into James' shirt and pulled him down into a crouch. She began to purr and lick his blushing face, eventually knocking him gently onto his behind. The boy just sat there, baby in arms, and let himself be groomed by the large cat.

It wasn't like he could do much else! This was the boss's pokémon.

"I didn't know that you could sing, James."

James jerked his head up, one eye closed from Persians tongue being near it, and blushed even harder. "I- you heard me?"

Giovanni continued to smirk as he read and signed papers. "I did. Where did you learn that lullaby? It seems to have been effective."

James turned his face into Persians grooming in an attempt to not answer. Persian stopped, giving him no excuse.

James sighed sadly, "It's something Miss Nana used to sing to me… It's the only thing I have left of her now."

Giovanni zeroed in on the child. He wore a small version of the rocket uniform, cap and all, and looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. "...Nana?"

"Mother and Father fired her for 'filling my head with nonsense'. I left because she was the only one there that cared about me besides Growlie."

_ So he's a runaway, _ Giovanni thought. He stayed silent in a bid for more information.

"Growlie was-is my Growlithe. He stayed behind to keep Mother and Father company." James shook his head violently. "I'm not going to marry Jessebelle, they can't make me now!"

_ Ah, it appears he was engaged against his will. _

Giovanni raised his hand in a bid for silence and Persian went back to grooming the boy. The man opened his laptop and finally did that background check on the boy.


	6. Should he...?

_ “ _ _ In the beginning, there was an Egg, and from the Egg came the Original One. It looked upon the vast Nothing, and created the Being of Time and the Being of Space. They came together to craft the Universe with their power. The Original One saw that, and was Pleased, and so, It created a Sun to illuminate the Universe, and from the Sun came the Moon. The Original One was Pleased with Its work, and so it Created new Beings to See what they, in turn, shall create, and they were of Earth, Water, and Air. They came together then, and created the Planets, for Sun and Moon to illuminate in the vast Universe. _

_ The Original One looked upon Its creations, and was Satisfied, but Weary. It created Life and Death, the Beginning and the End of the Never-Ending Cycle, and fell into Deep Slumber, for It knew that the Beings would keep the Balance in Its stead. _ _ ” _

Giovanni closed the tome and gazed at the sleeping children. James was passed out on the floor next to the crib and the now toddler slept soundly in her little bed. It was about time to move the crib out of his office, but Giovanni was reluctant to actually do so. It would mean not keeping an eye on her any longer, and James would probably have a breakdown if he wasn't able to see her as well.

Giovanni wondered if he should…


	7. The Attempt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not really my usual style but it is necessary to the plot...

James latched onto the knife bearing arm of the woman invading the office. She dropped the knife and the two-year-old in her surprise and sudden pain at the teeth tearing into the muscle of her forearm. The boy scrabbled at her face with his nails and screamed as best he could through his mouthful.

She slammed him into the wall a few times to get him off. He let go, but then launched himself at her face, still screaming. The door opened and grunts poured in just as the kidnapper went for James's eyes.

Soon she was covered in biting Zubats and Rattata as a Raticate paralyzed her with Glare.

James tore away painfully and hunched by the crying toddler, cradling his arm and holding his bruised ribs. His face around his eye was bleeding, but thankfully it was untouched.

**"What is going on?"** the dark voice boomed. Everyone in the room froze.

Giovanni stalked into the office, Persian growling at his side. She bounded over to her kittens and inspected each one. Amaryn was unharmed and unhappy, James was hurt and angry, growling like a Houndour at the one who had intended to harm his boss's daughter. His hat was lying in the corner from where he had first attacked.

Giovanni ignored the restrained woman for a moment to piece together what happened, eyes landing on the knife and her arm covered in bite marks matching a child, and the blood running down James's chin.

"Well done James. I'm very pleased." The Rocket Boss gently patted James on his head and nodded to Persian. "Take them to the hospital wing."

The large cat picked up Amaryn by the back of her onesie and nudged James out the door, which the dreadful woman was edging towards.

 **"And** **where** **do you think** **you're** **going?"**

Everyone froze again. Giovanni was pissed enough to use The Voice, a deep rumble that flooded a room like a tsunami, and brought just as much terror.

"Take her down to the labs. We will have a **discussion** later…"

"Sir!" The grunts all shouted and grabbed at the woman, not avoiding her injuries… which was probably impolite. She was Froakie-marched out the door and disappeared down the hallway, surrounded by grunts and their pokémon.

"Get this cleaned up. I want all evidence gone by tomorrow."

"Yes sir, it will be done!"

* * *

Persian growled at the doctors. They needed to look James over, but she needed to make her point. Anyone with bad intentions were not touching her kittens.

The crying Amaryn was gently set on a bed and James crawled in after her. He stubbornly ignored his injuries and cradled the little girl with his good arm as Persian settled on the bed with them.

As she finally let the doctors approach, Persian settled to croon at the children, singing a song to calm them.

If Giovanni didn't take care of this, she would.


	8. Adoption?

The boy stood in front of the desk, arm in a sling and face covered in bandages. Giovanni had his hands connected in front of his mouth. He stared until James began to look really nervous.

Papers were pushed forward.

"Read these." Giovanni ordered.

James began to panic. Was he going to get fired? Were those papers his notice?! "No, sir, I don't want to go anywhere! I didn't mean to- did I do something wrong?! I don't want to leave- nnph?!"

There were arms around him. His back hurt at being touched, but this was… a hug? Red cloth touched his face as a hand gently turned James's head so he could breathe again. Boss was… hugging him?

Giovanni let go like he had touched fire and sat back into his chair, looking for all the world like he hadn't just leaned over his desk and hugged a kid.

"Now READ."

James stared for a moment, then picked up the papers with his good hand.

They were adoption papers.

James jerked his head up and looked hard at Giovanni, to see if this was a joke. Then he remembered that Boss hardly ever joked. He began to tear up.

Giovannis eyes widened in the beginnings of panic. He could barely deal with his own crying daughter, and now his (soon to be) son was crying? He glanced pleadingly over at Persian, who rolled her eyes at him and gently tugged James to the floor, where he began to cry into her fur.

"You actually want me?" James asked, lifting his head from Persians neck.

The Boss got up from his desk again and took the papers from James, then snagged a pen and signed the forms in front of him.

The tears fell even harder and James let go of Persian to shakily take the forms back and search for the places to sign.

Giovanni was pleased. His daughter had a more permanent protector. Familial feelings would drive the boy to take care of her.

Now, to put a restraining order on the original parents… and the fiancé.


	9. Privileges

James looked at himself in the mirror. The Boss- Father, he's now Father- ordered a white uniform for James so no-one would heckle him the way they had done while he was just the boss's runner. He still ran papers for Father, but now everybody got out of his way and opened doors for him and…

It was terrible!

Today he had lessons in fighting and infiltration. Infiltration was easy, makeup came to him naturally and he loved being able to change his face to something else. Something no-one would recognize if he went home… not home anymore! This is home now. Home is where he has a Father who cares, even if he is kind of awkward, and a little sister.

James was about to lose it though. His instructors were very careful with him and tried not to hurt him while fighting. Wasn't the whole point of this to hit and be hit? If they didn't start actually teaching him soon he was going to attack them like he had that kidnapper! See how they reacted then!

* * *

That was It! That man had pulled his punch for the last time! James dropped and swept Ginos ankle out from under him then pounced like Persian had showed him once. He was quickly thrown off, but James thought he had made his point.

"What was that for?!" Gino shouted.

"I am tired of you all taking it easy on me! Actually teach me something! Stop pulling your punches! Or I'm going to go to your Pokémon! They'll teach me things properly! Persian already did! I can ask them for help!"

Gino and the other grunts stared. Then Gino started laughing.

"Vicious little brat, aren't you? Alright then, all together now! We'll teach you how to go against multiple opponents! Don't start crying when you get hurt!"

* * *

Giovanni raised his eyebrow. James was beat up, and his new uniform was torn, but he looked proud of himself.

Giovanni cast his gaze across the rest of the grunts. Gino had scratches on his face, and another was holding himself painfully. Sebastian limped into place in the line and Giovanni… laughed.

It was a nasty laugh, the kind that comes from taking pleasure in others pain, but it was a laugh.

He ruffled James' hair. "Well done."


	10. Enter Jesse!

Jesse was nervous. In Johto she had been shuffled from partner to partner. She hoped that when she transferred to Kanto it would be different.

"Your new partner is down in the gym. Follow me."

She followed the man down to the Johto training rooms, which did not hold fond memories for her…

There was a teen.

He was wearing a non-standard white uniform with a big red R on the front. They entered the room just as he lashed out with a foot and kicked a grunt in the chest to send him flying. Just as another snuck up behind him the teen pulled out a revolver and turned and fired. The grunt was blown back and he fired on the rest of the grunts. One by one they went down.

Jesse was terrified. This boy had just  _ killed _ five men? She hoped that this wasn't her new partner. He showed no remorse.

There was laughter and groans of pain. "Damn, James, did you have to bring out the gun?"

The grunts got up, some cradling ribs and others holding their stomachs.

Holes in their clothes revealed armor as bullets dropped away.

"Well I could have used my knife? But that's a bit more dangerous…" James? said.

"No, no, the gun is fine!"

"Speak for yourself, I'm going to be feeling this for a week!"

"Why'd you aim for the stomach? This hurts!"

James tucked away the gun and rubbed the back of his head as he was surrounded by his previous opponents. They congratulated him on his fighting skills while complaining about their pain.

"Sir!"

"Yes?" The blue-haired teenager turned to the instructor who had escorted Jesse. She stared unbelievingly as the men parted and let him through. His pristine white uniform looked very bright in the gym lights.

"Oh how are you? I haven't seen you in a while, Mr.Harrison!"

Jesse watched silently as James bounced his way to them.

His eyes landed on her and lit up.

"You must be Jesse- oh my Arceus." He frowned.

"What?" She asked defensively.

"Your hair!" His hand twitched, like he wanted to reach out but stopped himself.

"What about it?!" Jesse asked hotly.

"It's such a pretty color! And it's so long! You can do so many styles with it!"

Instructor coughed. "James here is an infiltration specialist, as well as a combat major; he has a wide skill set."

James beamed at her. Jesse felt rather faint.

"I already read your files, of course. You're a nurse? That's pretty cool! Sometimes I need someone to bandage me up when I get hurt in a fight! I think you'll be perfect!"

This boy is a dork. It was not helping Jesse at all. A phone rang and he stepped away to answer it.

"Why is he my partner?" Jesse asked the instructor. He turned a glare on her and she shrank back.

"James is a  _ very _ important person in Team Rocket. Your job is to protect him. Now I don't want to hear any complaints out of you. Understand?"

She nodded quickly with a "yes sir!"

Resentment started to well up, as the blue-haired boy came back and latched onto her hand.

"Let's get to know each other! What pokémon do you have? I have a Growlithe named Growlie and a Gyarados named Peaches!"

"I have an Ekans…"


	11. Secrets

"That is Shine! He's the one who carried me here from Kanto. He's not mine though, I think he wants to belong to my sister. Hey, Shine!" James shouted at the bird far above his and Jesse's heads.

The black corvid dove and as it came closer it got much bigger until it landed and towered over them.

Jesse just watched as James patted the beak of the Corviknight and spoke to it. The flying-steel type nodded a few times before taking off.

The other teen turned and smiled at Jesse.

"I sent him back to Kanto. We won't be flying with him, we'll be taking the plane."

"What do you mean? Aren't we going to Kanto ourselves?" The redhead asked.

"Well… eventually. That phone call earlier was fa- the Boss. He wants us to check on the Sinnoh and Unova bases."

Jesse did not sign up for traveling so far.

"And how do you rate a personal conversation with the Boss? Are you really that important?" She asked.

"You mean…" James was confused, "you really don't know?"

"Don't know what? What is going on here?"

James shook his head. "If you don't know, them I'm not telling you. It might be nice to be treated normally for once…" That last part was mumbled.

Jesse was getting suspicious. This guy seemed important to the other Team Rocket members, to the point where he could draw a gun on them and they would not get angry, but she had never heard of him before.

Though that  _ might _ have something to do with coming in late and missing the orientation. But she doesn't know that so shhh...


	12. Enter Meowth!

The Unova base was in Hollywood? It was such an odd place to put it. Hollywood is so busy though that the Rocket base hid just out of sight under a nice casino. James led Jesse in and made a place at the bar. 

"You're awfully young, kid. What do you want? Nothing alcoholic, you understand." The bartender stated.

"I want the Orbit," James looked over the menu for show. The Orbit was not there.

"Ah. One of those. See him over there? That's your guy." She handed him two glasses of sparkling juice. James stood and wandered over past the man, who nodded at them and stalked off. James brought Jesse to a table where they sat down.

"How exactly does this work? What are we doing here?" Jesse asked.

James took a drink. "Well, hopefully they'll come out and hand us the report right away. If not then we'll have to go down there. But Jason is usually on point with these things. It'll be fine."

"Sinnoh wasn't like this..."

* * *

There was a dirty Meowth in the alley. James stopped and Jesse followed after a few seconds.

He began to try to coax the Meowth to him with clicks of his tongue.

"Don't bother. I can talk." the Meowth snapped.

James blinked as Jesse flinched back with a yelp.

"Oh. Well okay then. Are you alright?" James asked.

"Not really."

"Can… I ask why?"

"No."

"A-alright then. Why don't you come with us and you can get cleaned up?" James offered.

"And why should I go with a twerp like you?"

James played with his fingers. "I'm just trying to help…"

Meowth looked him over, then looked himself over. "Yeah, okay. Whatever. Take me to your showers, or whatever."

* * *

James knocked on the bathroom door, holding a towel. "Are you okay in there?"

Jesse was sprawled on the bed. "I don't know why you bothered. It's just a street Meowth." She rolled over uncaringly.

"Everyone deserves to be treated well, you know! Even if he is from the streets, he still has feelings!" James told her.

"Tanks for that. But I really don't care." The dangling towel was snatched from James's hand and he looked down to see Meowth wrap it around himself.

James crouched to Meowths level. "Hey, I know the world seems bleak right now, but you have so much you can live for! Join our Team, we'll take care of you, we're like a family. And even if you don't, I'll give you my contact information. You can get a job in translation work! I know some people, they'll definitely help you out."

Meowth stared at this soft hearted idiot really hard. James was nothing but genuine, and it showed.

"I tink I'll take that info anyway, but I'll join your Team."


	13. Orientation

"And now, for the last of your orientation, Important People of Team Rocket. This is the Boss, Giovanni Accardo."

The screen showed a middle aged man with a sharp gaze and smirk on his face.

The new recruits all nodded and took notes. The more artistic ones made quick sketches. The man was the embodiment of what could be considered a Boss of the biggest crime organization in the world.

The instructor nodded.

"This is the boss's daughter, Amaryn. She doesn't know about what we do, and we keep it that way! Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"This is her bodyguard, Mewtwo. He is the most powerful psychic in the world. Do  _ not _ get on his bad side."

"Yes, sir!"

"And this is the boss's son, James! He is adopted, but don't think he isn't capable! He is one of our best combatants in the whole Team."

"Yes, sir!" "Wait, what?"

Everyone turned to the shortest grunt-to-be.

Meowth covered his mouth after his outburst. Everyone was staring at him. He decided that he still didn't care and shouted out "That twerp is the son of the Boss? He's the one who recruited me!"

Waves of jealousy floated off the other recruits. The instructor glared.

"Be more respectful! James is also our best infiltration specialist! He could be in here right now and no-one would know!"

The grunts murmured and shifted uneasily.

"I get the feeling he wouldn't care, either." Meowth mumbled, remembering just how James acted.

Instructor hmpfed. "Now that that interruption is done, these are the executives…"

* * *

"Alright. Recruit number 27. Where do you want to be assigned?"

Meowth held up a piece of paper. "Call this guy. I want to be on his team."

The man took the paper and started shaking when he saw what it said.

"J…James? As in the boss's son James?"

Meowth nodded, "dat's right. He brought me in this joint, he can take responsibility."

"Are you sure you don't want to do translation work in a safer place? Like Alola?"

"Yep, ahm sure."

"A-alright then. We'll make the call now. Last chance to back out?"

"Nope! Call 'im."


	14. What are they thinking?!

"You tried very hard. Maybe next time you will win, if you train your Pokémon a bit more." Giovanni said kindly to the young trainer. Amaryn bounced from his side to the tearful boy and began to lead him out of the gym, chattering quickly to try to bring his mood up.

A Rocket grunt ran in. Giovanni narrowed his eyes and changed from the kind gym leader to ruthless Rocket Boss. "Report."

"You're going to want to see this!" The grunt handed Giovanni a tablet tuned to a news station.

"What is going on?”

**Earlier**

"Jesse, I'm bored."

"I don't care."

"Hmph. Meowth I'm bored."

"Go steal somethin'."

"But what?"

"Does it matta'?"

"...Let's all steal something and make a production out of it."

"What/Why?"

"I don't know. Let's dress up and make it fun. Broad daylight. Contact a tv station first. Make it on the news!"

"...You know what? Why not?"

**Present time**

"We are live at the Celadon Museum, where we got a tip that someone was going to steal a…  _ something _ from one of the displays. They said they were going to make a clean getaway and to prepare the police… Jonathan, is this real?"

"Apparently so, Linda, the police got the same tipoff. And it seems like Officer Jenny is taking it seriously! Let’s see what she has to say! Officer Jenny!”

The blue-haired woman turned with a smile, her Growlithe panting at her side.

“Officer Jenny, what are your thoughts on this occasion?”

She laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, nothing will happen! We’re here just in case the supposed ‘thieves’ try something. Even if they do, we’ll stop them. It’s ludicrous that they think they can give us advance notice and get away with anything-”

In the background two workers carried a large vase. The female waved at the camera and the male gave a regal nod. The police let them through after some conversation and they continued off screen.

There was the sound of a car driving away as the museum curator came out screaming, “They took the displays! The Ming vase and all the Kalosian jewelry are gone!”

Officer Jenny whirled around and stared. Everyone began to panic and the cameraman hurried to turn onto the car that was getting away. Police began rushing to their cars to find out that their keys were missing. Curious bystanders watched in awe at the frantic searching of pockets.

**Viridian Gym**

“What the hell is that boy  _ thinking? _ Get me a phone _ NOW! _ ” Giovanni shouted.

“Y-yes sir!”

The grunt took off, terrified.

Giovanni sat down and put his head in his hands. "Where did I go wrong with him?"


	15. The Madame

"Gio! Why haven't you visited me? And why did I have to learn from Petrel that you have children now?"

Madame Rocket blew through the mansion like a hurricane. Giovanni set his face and  _ glared _ at his mother. She promptly ignored him and flew to James, who was holding a stack of paperwork and looked like a Deerling in headlights at her attention.

"Oh you are just adorable! I never thought that my Gio would adopt such a sweet boy! Oh and look at this cutie! Hello baby!" She fluttered over to the crib where Amaryn was standing and staring curiously. Then she rounded on Giovanni.

"Giovanni Alessandro Accardo, I never thought that you would keep your own children from me, your mother, for over three years! When I finally asked Petrel why I hadn't seen you, he told me you were busy! With your children! Why, in the name of Mew, did you decide that it was okay to ignore the fact that I have grandchildren now and would probably like to meet them?"

Persian backed away from her trainer.  _ You're on your own with this one, _ it was like she was saying. Giovanni looked betrayed at her as she sauntered to the crib and took Amaryn and James out of the room for him to be yelled at without scaring the kids.

* * *

"Oh just call me Grandma, darling boy. And what's your name dear?" Madame Rocket smoothed her hand over James's hair.

"I'm… James? Um, Grandma? This is Amaryn," James held Amaryn as he stared at his Father and his wounded pride.

"Well hello again sweetheart! You are such a happy baby, yes! You must get it from your mother, your father was such a grump! And where is the lucky lady who had you? Giovanni!"

"Dead, and it wasn't my doing. The birth was too much for her." He stated defensively. Persian rubbed her head against his hand to calm him as he muttered obscenities to himself.

The woman hmphed and turned back to her grandchildren.

"It figures that I'll never get a daughter-in-law. The eternal bachelor, my son is. He was lucky to have children at all."

"Grandma, we're the lucky ones. Father took me off the streets. Amaryn is really loved." James said loyally.

"Aren't you so sweet? You don't need to defend my son, honey, he needs to be taken down a few pegs every once in a while."

"Hey!"


	16. Thieves of Dawn (Not the girl)

Smoke and a bang signaled the beginning of their introduction.

"You ready Moon?"

"Yes I am Sun."

James and Jesse darted forward so that when the smoke on the museum dispersed, they would be visible to the crowd. Jesse had turned her hair white and formed it into a strange crescent style. She was looking very masculine in her tailored tuxedo and the makeup which changed her face.

James on the other hand had short blonde hair in a boycut and was wearing an evening gown. He had defined his eyes and wore contacts to make them yellow. He looked to make sure that Meowth was filming before striking a pose.

"Welcome to our heist! I'm Sun!"

Jesse stepped forward and seemingly reluctantly struck her own pose, "I'm Moon! And together we are-"

They twirled to hold hands and said together "The Thieves of Dawn!"

The crowd went wild. Police officers below went crazy too. "How did they get up there!?" being the prevalent question.

"I need an aerial team, stat!" Officer Jenny looked up at the roof of the museum, where the two still hadn't stopped talking.

"As you saw on our last heist, we got away without the police noticing a thing! But now, we want to make it a show! So keep an eye on us! We'll definitely be back for more!"

'Sun' held up a fossil from the displays inside and lovingly caressed it. 'Her' long gloves ensured that there was no damage due to oils on the skin. They turned and jumped off the roof to screams from the crowd.

Jesse and James slid down the back of Peaches, James's Apricot Tiger Gyarados. While the Police frantically searched through the area, they made it through the museum and out a side door, where Meowth had prepared their next disguises. They slipped into the crowd and disappeared.

* * *

"Did you get everything?" Jesse asked Meowth.

"Yeah, I sure did! Everyting went perfectly! And here we go… and set! PokéTube page all set up and ready to go. Now for MaijuScreen…"

"That was exciting! Oooh an Amber!" James sorted through the various fossils they took before their introduction. Jesse turned, "I hope you're planning on giving some of that to the boss? He didn't seem happy on the phone last night."

James looked up. "Don't worry, I already arranged an anonymous donation to the scientists in the Rocket Basement. They'll resurrect one of these for us, as long as they can have the rest."

"Resurrection?" Meowth looked up, blinking after staring at the screen for so long. "Why do we need anotha' Pokémon?"

"I thought Jesse might like something other than Ekans? Right now we don't have any fliers. An Areodactyl or Archeops might be a nice thing to have."

They looked at Jesse. Jesse shrugged.

"I… guess that's that then. Pick one, Areodactyl or Archeops?" James held up a Plume fossil and an Amber.

Jesse blindly reached out and grabbed the Plume fossil. She opened her eyes and said "I guess an Archen can be trained up."


	17. Rainy Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cute little thing suggested by Grandma and inspired by the rain.

The rain was pouring. Amaryn and James stared out the window as it came down. The water types that lived in the pond nearby were splashing and playing in the large puddles forming in the grass and driveway.

The child and teenager stared and stared before James shifted. "I know what we can do!"

"Huh?"

"Go get your raincoat and boots!"

"Okay!"

The two rushed off to their respective rooms and got ready to go outside.

James picked up Amaryn as the went out the door so she wouldn't slip and set her down in the grass in a large puddle. "What now?" she asked.

James lifted a foot and brought it down to make a big splash and made the six-year-old screech. Then she started laughing and jumped in a circle.

The siblings jumped and stomped in the puddles with the water types.

"And what are you two doing?"

They looked up to see Giovanni with an umbrella. He was smiling at the wet kids as Persian huddled under the porch unhappily.

"Splash splash!" Amaryn laughed. She ran up to Persian and tried to pull her into the rain with them. Persian whined but let herself be pulled. Then she jumped and landed on all fours in a puddle, rendering Giovannis umbrella useless.

He sighed.


	18. Uh Oh!

"It's not fair!" Jenny whined to Joy. Joy smiled sympathetically at her and busied herself with her computer.

"Is it really so bad?" She shot an order off at Chansey who saluted and hurried away.

"Yes!" Jenny exclaimed. "She's a criminal! And now I have a crush on her! This is horrible!"

James discreetly listened in.

"It's not terrible. She's smart and talented, you could do a lot worse." Joy mused.

Jenny groaned and put her head on the counter. "Sun's probably not even real! I'm in love with a girl who doesn't even exist!"

James felt guilty.

**A few days ago**

"Welcome to our heist!"

Everything was going according to plan when Jenny suddenly managed to cuff Sun. Sun paused to stare at the cuffs before looking up with a grin.

"Well now," she purred "you caught me Of-fic-er. What are you going to do with me, hmm?" She leaned in close to Jenny, who started to blush red.

Only Jenny's immediate family and friends knew that she was very much a lesbian. These days Pride was just becoming a thing that was spoken of freely. 

And this Jenny has a thing for pretty and competent.

Sun unfortunately checked off all her boxes.

"You-you're under arrest for theft and disruption of-"

"Hold that thought."

Sun plucked a key out of Jennys pocket and jumped back. Quickly unlocking the cuffs they returned to their plan and made their getaway with 18th century pottery.

Leaving poor Jenny blushing and sputtering.

**Now**

James snuck away, mind whirling. He needed to do something about this…


	19. Tir Na Nog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song by Celtic Woman

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Sha ta co ti oh nugga tir na nog _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Nug a tir na nog! _

_ Come my love our world's may part, _

_ The gods will guide us across the dark. _

_ Come with me and be mine my love, _

_ Stay and break my heart. _

_ From the shores through the ancient mist, _

_ You bear the mark of my elven kiss. _

_ Clear the way, I will take you home _

_ To eternal bliss. _

Giovanni stopped and backtracked. Through the crack in the door James was dancing with Amaryn, both dressed like fairies. They twirled and danced, stumbling every now and then with laughter.

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Sha ta co ti oh nugga tir na nog _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Nug a tir na nog. _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Sha ta co ti oh nugga tir na nog _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Nug a tir na nog. _

_ Tir na nog, oh, come beyond the ancient fog, _

_ Tir na nog, oh, come with me to tir na nog. _

_ Far away from the land you knew, _

_ The dawn of day reaches out to you. _

_ Though it feels like a fairy tale, _

_ All of this is true. _

_ Run with me, have a look around. _

_ We build our life of a sacred ground. _

_ Come my love, our world's may part, _

_ We'll be safe and sound. _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Sha ta co ti oh nugga tir na nog _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Nug a tir na nog. _

_ Tir na nog, oh, come beyond the ancient fog, _

_ Tir na nog, oh, come with me to tir na nog. _

Persian chuckled. The siblings looked to be having fun. Their dresses swished and swirled, occasionally catching feet.

_ Time won't follow the path we came. _

_ The world you left, it forgot your name. _

_ Stay with me and be mine my love, _

_ Spare my heart the pain. _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Sha ta co ti oh nugga tir na nog _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Nug a tir na nog. _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Sha ta co ti oh nugga tir na nog _

_ Sha ta co ti oh scum ne rivna _

_ Nug a tir na nog. _

_ Tir na nog, oh, come beyond the ancient fog, _

_ Tir na nog, oh, come with me to tir na nog. _

_ Come with me to tir na nog. _

Giovanni paused in thought before walking away. He had never seen the dress James was wearing before. It fit him perfectly, had he commissioned it?

Strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, that was the first time Giovanni saw James in a dress.


	20. The First Meeting

He was holding his baby. Oh, Dialga, what if he dropped her? His only daughter would be dead.

Giovanni very carefully shifted to hold her in one arm (she was so small-) and brushed his fingers over her face. Two eyes, one nose, two ears… he wanted to make sure nothing was missing. He moved to counting fingers and toes.

Amaryn wiggled her arms weakly and whimpered. Persian lifted her head at the sound and chirped questioningly.

Giovanni slowly knelt so Persian could take a look.

"This is Amaryn. She's my daughter."

Persian sniffed at the whiny babe and turned away to sneeze. "Purrow!"

"Well we just got back from the hospital. I expect she smells like it." Giovanni turned to the crib he had set up while Amaryn was still at the infancy ward and gently set her down inside.

"Giovanni, sir, you called for a meeting…?"

Giovanni turned to his executives. Petrel and Ariana stared at the crib, while Archer and Proton looked incredulously at Giovanni.

"You had a kid?" Proton asked.

"She's so cute!" Petrel swooped down and tickled the baby's belly.

Giovanni kept a hawkish eye on him, "Her name is Amaryn. I don't want her to grow up knowing about what Team Rocket actually does. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir. Why though?" Ariana wondered. "My Silver is being trained up to work in Team Rocket, is there any particular reason she won't be?"

"I don't want her to live this life. I expect you to spread the word. She knows nothing and will stay knowing nothing."


	21. Idea

"You need to do somethin' about dat Jenny, James. It's been months." Meowth said.

"I know, okay? I'm trying." James shot back.

'That Jenny' was the Jenny that had a crush on Sun. Every time they sent out a heist note Jenny was there, trying to catch them. Jesse found it annoying.

"Why doesn't anyone chase me? I'm hot."

"You're also not interested and dey can tell." Meowth told her. "All you do when people flirt wit you is make faces. You look uncomfortable. So they've stopped."

"Oh."

James scrubbed at his hair. "You know what, I'm just going to find Jenny a girlfriend. Let's set her up with other women. This is getting bad. Dad even told me to do something before I get caught, because he won't be bailing me out."

Jesse and Meowth turned to stare at him, then whistled. "He's getting really angry, isn't he?"

"Well he ain't happy we started this in the first place…" Meowth muttered. "Let's find Officer Jenny a girlfriend. It can't be that hard, she fell for James after all."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"


	22. Idea 2

"This is harder than we thought."

The women that Jenny tried to go out with usually left after a couple of days. They spied one night to see why and watched as Jenny dropped everything to go to the station, leaving the other woman to get angry and leave. Jenny never seemed to bond with those women.

"Ayaiyai, how are we going to find a woman who'll stay with her?"

"We need someone understanding. Jenny has an unstable schedule so we need someone who'll tolerate it… where will we find someone like that?"

"I don't know, but I don't tink the blind dates are working. She's startin' ta figure us out."

Jenny suddenly started to look around, making Jesse, James, and Meowth, who were in Dawn costume, hide behind the roof they were spying from. The woman she was with said something, then got up and left. Jenny looked dejected, but not surprised.

"Should we stop?" James wondered.

"Perhaps for now. Let's go pick up that Archen from the labs."


	23. Poor Jenny

"Someone's been setting me up on dates, and they just aren't working. Joy, everybody leaves after a few days. And I don't know why!"

Joy hummed, "Maybe it's because you're a workaholic? It was like that for me too until I found Justin. You just need to be patient."

"But nobody wants to date me!" Jenny cried.

"I'd date you." a deep voice said.

Jenny turned and was blindsided by muscles. The woman was wearing a tight cropped tank top that showed _everything_. She had toned legs for miles and large hands, thick biceps and steel abs. Her blonde hair was short and flopped into her eyes which shone with mischief. She stood at least six feet tall, taller still with the combat boots she was wearing. An angular face completed the set, and started the downfall of Jenny.

The handsome woman stepped up to the counter and placed down a pokéball upon it.

"We were wrestling and I think I sprained his wrist. Can you look at it?"

"Of course! Chansey!" Joy took the 'ball and left to the back.

The blonde turned and leaned against the counter and just looked at Jenny.

"You got dating troubles huh? Same. The muscles scare people off." She flexed an arm. The rippling muscles caught and held Jennys eye. They stuck there even after the woman put her arm back down. "The name's Gladiolus, most call me Gladi. Or Teacher. 'Pends on what I'm doing."

Jenny stuttered "Ah, I'm Jenny…"

"Yup, knew that. Your family is pretty famous. Good at what they do, which is always an awesome thing."

Jenny barely heard a thing. She was too busy staring at the arms like the branches of a sturdy old oak tree. Joy came back out and noticed Jennys lack of attention. 

She smirked.

"Machamp will be just fine. You can come get him tomorrow." She said loud enough to break Jennys trance so to notice what she said.

Gladi turned again and nodded to her. "Thanks Nurse. I'll be back tomorrow then." She clomped to the door.

Gladis shorts were tight too.

"Sooo…" Joy began, "What were you saying about Sun?"

"Who?" Jenny asked dazedly.

Joy laughed.


	24. Peaches and Flower

"This is your Magikarp. It will be a test. When it evolves I will allow you to leave home. Do you understand James?"

"Yes, Father!" James took the Magikarp from Giovanni and it laid still in his arms. "I'm gonna call you Peaches!"

The striped karp looked up at the smiling face of her new trainer. The boy trotted off to find a good place for her to swim.

Giovanni had gotten her from Hoppy Town. They had many varieties there. Peaches was an Apricot Tiger Magikarp. A light pink-orange in color with brown variegated stripes, she was already fairly strong for a karp. She had been one of the winning karps in the jumping contests held in Hoppy town until she failed to jump higher than her last opponent. She hadn't wanted to sit around in her retirement so the trainer had put her up for adoption.

Amaryn jumped around James as he went slower on his way to the pond outside.

"I want a pokémon! I want a pokémon!"

"Maybe if you ask dad he'll get you one? I have this Magikarp now, and I asked a couple weeks ago!"

"I want a Vulpix! Magikarp is cool but Vulpix is super cute!" The five year old watched as James gently set Peaches in the garden pond.

The miniature Goldeen in the pond came to investigate this new intruder and swam away when they realized just how big she was.

"Maybe he'll get you one. Okay Peaches, I hope we'll get along. I'm James! I like my family, dressing up, and learning! I hope to work for my dad when I get older, and maybe get my Growlie back. Growlie is my Growlithe friend, I left him at my old home. What about you?"

"Karp karp magikarp karp magi."

"She says that she likes her new name," Amaryn translated. "And she likes sitrus berries and the varieties of Corsola that lived in her old pond. James, what's a varieties?"

"It's variety, and it means different types. So it's different types of Corsola."

* * *

By the door of the mansion stood Giovanni and a woman.

"So those're my students, huh? Cute."

Giovanni gestured "James already has a head start on actual fighting, and Amaryn just needs to learn self defence. She doesn't know about the team."

"So keep 'er innocent. Got it." She brushed short hair out of blue eyes and crossed her arms. "Shall I introduce myself or d'you wanna do it?"

"James might attack you. He is very protective of my daughter." Giovanni whistled.

The children came running, although they slowed when they noticed the stranger. Amaryn ended up hiding behind her big brother and peeking out at the large woman.

"James, Amaryn, this is Gladiolus. She will be your self defence instructor. James, she will be teaching you other things as well."

"Call me Teacher."


	25. Growlie

"Don't come near me ever again, Jessebelle. I have a restraining order and I'm  _ not _ afraid to enforce it myself." The gun trained on Jessebelle and her whip never wavered in the face of her fear.

James had heard a few grunts talking about their pokémon and it had reminded him of his most loyal friend. He decided that since Peaches had finally evolved that it was time to get him back. It had been seven years, after all.

"Oh come now James, you don't mean that do you? After all, we are destined-"

**Bang! Bang!**

A few strands of red hair fell, as did most of the whip. A quick adjustment had the gun trained on her once again.

James's former parents stared in awe. The Gyarados hovering over them and blocking their way might have had something to do with it.

"I came for Growlie. That is all. Peaches, Ice Beam."

The Vileplume sneaking up on James was flash frozen.

"And just for the record, I filed the paperwork to disown myself. If you want the inheritance, you'll have to wait for  _ those two _ to have another kid, as they are not my parents. I  _ have _ a father and a sister. And they are nothing like this family. I left for a reason."

He smoothed down his uniform. Growlie finally managed to break through the door of the dog house and came running.

"Now we can leave. Peaches!"

Peaches caused an earthquake and they fled while the ground was unstable.


	26. Bad Words

"FUCK!" A grunt shouted out in the lounge. He had just stubbed his toe on a table.

James, who had entered the room in time to hear, was confused. The boy looked around and asked the nearest person "what does 'fuck' mean?"

"Holy- you don't know what that means? How innocent _are_ you?" They asked.

Another grunt got an evil smile on his face as he loomed over the preteen. "I can tell you what it means. You wanna-"

Giovanni stepped through the door. "James I need you to… what are you doing?"

The grunt immediately backed away from Giovanni's favorite Runner.

"Sir," James began, "what does 'fuck' mean?"

Killing intent rose instantly.

"And just who…" Giovanni started. He pulled out a gun, "told you..." loaded it, "that word?" aimed at the one who had been leaning over James.

* * *

"Fuck!" The high-pitched word came from the mouth of a six-year-old. James whipped around and stared at the little girl who had dropped her Clefairy doll in a puddle. She picked it up and looked forlornly at the water dripping off the plush.

"Amaryn, how did you learn that word?" James asked frantically.

"One of the maids said it. Said you say it when something bad happens." The little girl told him distractedly.

"Amaryn, listen to me."

She looked up.

"That is a very bad word, okay? Father will get mad if you say it again. So please don't say it."

"Okay."

She began to trot over to James but tripped with a "Shit!"

"Oh no…" James despaired.


	27. Poor Jenny Part 2

Jenny saw someone getting dragged into an alley. Their form was covered by a raincoat, as it was drizzling, and didn't give any detail besides they were tall.

She ran forward to the alley entrance as "give me your money" rang out, and then a few thuds.

It was Gladi from yesterday.

The blonde hair soaked into her eyes as her hood had fallen down. She had thrown the man to the ground and was holding him there with one hand. The knife was kicked across the alley.

"Hey Officer!" Gladi nodded.

"Um…"

"This guy tried to mug me. I'm not sure why I'm bigger than he is. Must be blind."

"Mpf not blinf!" The man tried to struggle loose, leading to Gladi twisting his hands behind his back and holding them there easily.

"You gonna arrest 'im?"

"Oh, yes, I'm going to need your statement. If you'll come with me to the station…" Jenny internally screamed. It was the best she could do in the face of her attraction. Habit took over and made sure she didn't stutter, or worse, trip.

* * *

"Well, I guess that's it?" Gladi scratched the back of her head. Jenny's eye caught on the biceps no longer hidden by the raincoat.

"Um, yes, I have your statement... You can go now..."

"Okay then. I've gotta go pick up Machamp, so see ya, Officer."

Gladi walked toward the coatrack and slung her coat over her shoulders, hiding those glorious muscles. Jenny finally snapped out of her trance.

"Um, wait!"

"Hmmm?" Gladi turned from the door.

"Can I... get your number?"

"What, in case something comes up?"

"For... personal reasons..."

“Personal reasons?”

"Like... a date, maybe?"

"Oh, really?" Gladi asked.

"Well yesterday you said..." Jenny started to mumble.

Gladi grinned, remembering. “I did. Next Tuesday work for you?”

Jenny startled when Growlithe nudged her. "Oh, of course! I, um, I get off work at five? So… um, dinner?” Jenny grasped at straws. “Or a movie? Or-“

"How about we do dinner, and then see what's next, hmmm? No need to get so worked up." Gladi stepped back and took Jennys hand in hers, then kissed the back like a gentleman. Jenny blushed.

“Wait-“ she blurted suddenly, as Gladi stepped out the door, “Next?”

"Well, if we decide we like each other, we need to figure out where to go." Gladi sent a charming grin that transformed her handsome face into something beautiful.

Jenny squeaked quietly. "Of- of course! I- next Tuesday then?"

"Yep, I'll pick ya up." Gladi ruffled through her pockets and pulled out a card, flipping it and holding it out. Jenny tried not to snatch it.

Gladiolus Verniarr

Combat Instructor

###-###-####

"I'll text you?"

"Sure thing. See ya Tuesday." Gladi waved as she walked out the door.

Jenny waited a few seconds to collapse into her chair, face completely red.

"I have a date!" she muttered.

Her scream caused Growlithe to cover his ears in shock and a few officers to come running.

She had a hard time explaining that one.


	28. ...What do I call this one?

"Are ya really gonna need da bazooka?"

James looked up from where he was strapping the weapon to his thigh. "Well, probably not, but it pays to be prepared!" He dropped the skirt over the practical arsenal he was carrying. You couldn't tell underneath the ballgown.

Jesse rolled her eyes and strapped her own knife to her back. "Assassination missions are so not my style. Why did the boss send us this one again?"

"Because da traitor sold info to da police. He got a whole base caught and got away with it. Boss wants 'im dead."

"Mhm, Father doesn't tolerate traitors. We are to lure him away, inform him of his death, then kill him while he's gibbering in terror. Do you want to kill him? Or should I?"

"Get him with a gun, make your escape, then I'll set off an alarm to make sure he's found."

"Gotcha." James affixed a silencer to his pistol and hid it, before fluffing out his hair.

"By the way, why am I the one always flirting with people to lure them away from crowds?" James wondered.

"Because Jesse's aroace and I'm the wrong species. Get a move on!" Meowth pushed.

"Alright, alright, let's go."


	29. Mewtwo

The purple catlike pokémon stepped from the wreckage of what used to be a laboratory. He stopped to stare at the man that had stood by as the building burned.

_ Are you going to stop me? _ The powerful psychic type projected.

The man smirked. "I came because I had heard that these people created something that I needed. Well… it seems they are no longer here. Would you like a job?"

_ A job doing what? _

"I have a need for a bodyguard. My little girl gets into trouble without realizing it. You can meet her before you decide."

_ And why should I go with another human? These ones were bad enough _ .

“I would wait before you make a decision.”

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes at the man, who introduced himself as Giovanni. He would wait. For now.

* * *

"Amaryn," Giovanni knocked on the door. "Amaryn, I have someone you might like to meet."

"No! I want James!"

"Amaryn, baby, please come out. I brought you a friend."

The door edged open for a little eye to peek out. The black haired child looked up at her father before moving on to Mewtwo.

"A friend?" She came out and stood on her toes to reach Mewtwos hand, then gently tugged him down to look him in the eyes. He went down curiously to stare at the little girl.

She moved forward and touched her cheek to his and began to nuzzle him.

Mewtwos eyes widened. This little girl had just offered her friendship just like that! He moved back to see if she knew what she had done.

She began to tear up at his seeming rejection. He quickly moved his other hand up and brought her close enough to nuzzle her left cheek back.

She giggled. "Daddy look! I have a friend!"

Giovanni smiled not-so-nicely, though it gentled when she turned to him.

"I'm glad."


	30. N

"Hello little girl. Is that your brother?"

Amaryn turned to see a strangely dressed woman. They were in the Nimbasa theme park and James had just gone to get some ice cream, leaving Amaryn to stay on the bench with Peaches.

_ "Don't talk to strangers, Ryn-ryn." _ Peaches advised.

Amaryn, who remembered the  _ last _ time she had ignored her big brothers and Peaches advice, turned her nose up at the lady.

"I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. Peaches said so."

"And just who is Peaches?"

"Karp!" Peaches glared at the overly pushy woman.

"Leave me alone!" Amaryn demanded.

"Is there a problem here?" A boy asked.

"My prince!"

The boy shooed away the woman, the grey fox on his shoulder chattering chastisingly. He turned to sit next to Amaryn on the bench.

"I'll keep anybody else from coming. My name is N, and this is Zorua. May I have yours?"

Amaryn looked down at Peaches in her lap.  _ "It's up to you sweetie, though I like this one better." _

"Thank you." N said to her.

"Do you know what Peaches is saying?!" The little girl asked excitedly.

N backed up a bit and nodded, "I can understand all pokémon. It's a unique-"

"I can too!" Amaryn cut him off.

"Huh?" N and his Zorua were startled.

"Mmhm! I trans-late for daddy and big brother a lot! Persian says it's easier to tell daddy what she wants now! I'm Amaryn! Do you know-" the child chattered away at the increasingly confused green-haired boy.

"Amaryn!"

The blue-haired teen came holding an ice cream cone in each hand. "Who's this?" James asked.

"This is N! He can talk to pokémon too!"

"Oh?" He turned a suspicious eye on the younger boy.

"Don't worry. I was just talking to your little sister." N soothed.

"He made a weird lady leave!" Amaryn took her ice cream and shared it with Peaches.

"Hmm…" James contemplated N before reaching out. "James, it's nice to meet you."


End file.
